'Life' imitates several movies, but still good for a sci-fi scare

"Mars Attacks" and an "Alien" movie meet "Gravity" in "Life," a largely engrossing and unsettling, if also not wholly original, slice of science-fiction.

The tale of a living microscopic organism brought aboard the International Space Station that rapidly grows into a life-threatening force also isn't afraid to go pretty dark. It's refreshing that something that also could be considered a horror film never devolves into a laughing matter.

"Life" begins with a nifty bit of filmmaking from director Daniel Espinosa, a long tracking shot that shows a risky operation that takes us all around this re-created version of the station and introduces us to the various team members. Among them are mission specialist Rory Adams (Ryan Reynolds), physician David Jordan (Jake Gyllenhaal), British scientist Hugh Derry (Ariyon Bakare) and Miranda North (Rebecca Ferguson of "The Girl on the Train"), who's on loan from the Centers for Disease Control.

Rory is, well, a Ryan Reynolds type -- think Deadpool with only a fraction of the profanity.

David, on the other hand, is more quiet and contemplative. The ex-military man who served in the Middle East is his own worst patient, Miranda scolding him that his muscle atrophy is worsening and that he has been aboard the station for too long.

"I like it up here," he tells her. "I can't stand what we do to each other down there.

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When a probe returns from Mars with soil, the microscopic life form is found, an exciting discovery for the crew and, really, for mankind. As the little fellow begins to grow under the watchful and adoring eye of Hugh, the crew talks to excited children back home, one of whom gets to name the being Calvin after her school.

Soon, Calvin, still small enough to reside in a petri dish but rapidly growing -- all of its cells are virtually identical and thus each is muscle, nerve, etc. -- has entered into a hibernation. Hugh, desperate to interact with it more, decides to subject it to a low-voltage electric current.

"Come on in here," Rory says to another crew member. "We're shocking the monkey."

Yeah, um, bad move.

Powerful despite its size, Calvin goes on a deadly rampage and, in the process, even more quickly grows inside. Soon, it is something akin to a nightmarish cross between an octopus and a bat. (Let's go with "octo-bat" because, well, "bat-opus" just sounds silly.)

As "Life" rolls along, the ever-dwindling team must confront the octo-bat inside the station and even outside it during a necessary spacewalk. It's pretty tense stuff.

Written by "Deadpool" writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, "Life" is mostly well-constructed and boasts fine enough dialogue. It even manages to get a little philosophical, Hugh stating that life invariably involves destruction.

"Calvin doesn't hate us," he says, "but he has to kill us to survive."

Unfortunately, none of the characters -- including the sarcastic Rory -- is all that compellingly written or performed, so you become only so attached to them. (Calvin, though, has no trouble becoming VERY attached to them, if you get the drift.) The possible exception is Hugh, a compassionate paraplegic who has more freedom of movement in zero-gravity, making you want to see more of Bakare (FX's "Tyrant") in the future.

And while Espinosa, who worked with Reynolds on the 2012 action flick "Safe House," does-above average work, you can't help but wonder what a more talented filmmaker might have done with the cramped space station and this monster. Two directors who instantly come to mind are David Fincher of 1992's "Alien 3" and Alfonso Cuarón of 2013's "Gravity."

If nothing else, "Life" should whet appetites for "Alien" director Ridley Scott's "Alien: Covenant," due in theaters May 19.

However, factoring in an ending that saves one last punch, Espinosa and company have cooked up something a bit heartier than an appetizer, even if it isn't always that tasty.

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